Blade Runner 2008 Extended Edition

I have been avoiding this edit ever since I first came to fanedit.org.

Why? For me, there have been soooo many commercially available versions of this movie, which I have them all, that I just wasn’t certain I wanted to watch another version. I generally don’t consider any movie a “sacred cow” – nofanedit could imrpove it in any way. I think somewhere in my sub-conscious, I have always thought that this movie should not be faneditted. Perhaps because there have been so many different versions since it was originally released.

I was battling a bout of insomnia the other week and was on the forum reading some posts and this edit was mentioned. So, I decided to at least read the reviews of the edit (which I never do before watching an edit). After reading a few edits, I found myself very intrigued and read them all. By the end, I was D/L-ing it.

I am VERY happy that I decided to finally D/L this edit. If you are reading my post, then you have probably read thru most of theones before me. This edit is definitely worth your time to download and watch – even if you have never watched this movie before, think this is a “sacred cow” movie or were never that into this movie after watching some commercial version of it.

I especially liked the option of turning on or off the voiceover; liked the editing overall (no hard cuts, audio/video near perfect) and all the extra scenes.

As much of a fan as I am of this movie and now, this edit – my only slightly negative thought: the additional scenes do slow the pace of the movie down, a lot, in some areas. However, the new scenes do add a great deal of depth to the characters and plot. I completely understand and agree, that BR is not an “action sci-fi” movie as a whole, so the slow-down doesn’t really affect the movie over all. Just wanted to mention that is slows (not bogs) down in some points.

Take it from a big fan of this movie: this edit is worth your time.

Just watched this yesterday.

Great job with the production man. Nice stuff!

I really enjoyed the experience and I prefer the taking of time over parts of the film rather than rushing it.
Gives a very different feeling to the film I think.

The slight noticeable niggle with the repetition pokrak mentioned.

Regarding the including of all scenes…for me, the longer, the better.

Finally kudos for completely changing the dynamic with that great, “You know what I think? That we were made for each other.” Very good!

***** 5 Stars. Only the repetition thing annoyed me but apart from that, great.

Thanks for all your hard work ADM ;)

BR is my favourite film of all time. For years now, I’ve been trying to track down like so many others – different versions of this cult-hit. I’ve never decided whether I prefer the V/O or not, but I suspect I preferred the 92 directors cut as there was no happy ending and the unicorn scene made more sense for the ending.

With the arrival of the Final Cut – I thought we were going to see long lost deleted scenes put back in and a nice big correction and cleanup or certain things. Although I was still blown away watching the FC, I was left a bit dissapointed that Scott hadn’t put anything more in. It was just a clean up. Especially so, when I saw 45 mins of deleted and alternate scenes on the DVD’s.

Enter ADigitalMan with a cut for all tastes….well nearly anway. With the list of changes as above – this left me salivating. Downloaded and watched.

The nice thing here, is that he’s given you the option of V/O. Those who hate the dialogue can switch it off. Those who like can switch it on and there’s different version of the dialogue. I watched it with his ‘preferred’ dialogue, which adds much more Deckard narration, much more background into his character. I only noticed this go a bit strange in a couple places where the Vangelis score seems to repeat a couple bars. Sometimes Deckard seems to say something and repeat himself but in a different way….some of the narration doesn’t quite mesh – but I know this, I’m a fan. Someone watching this for the first time would never know. Plus you can watch it with the different narrations or not at all.

HOSPITAL SCENES!!!! YES!!!! The funny thing about these scenes, is that Holden makes Deckard to be a bit aloof, not altogether with it – the same thing can be said of an additional bar scene at Taffy Lewis’s.

Leon meeting Roy – much better than the previous re-used scene.

Leaving out the unicorn scene. To me, it makes no sense of the origami unicorn that Gaff leaves – I had no problem with it, but some other scenes point at Deckard being a rep here. He goes on about why a replicant would want photos and collect photos, while staring at his huge collection of photos. One of which comes to life, like Rachels. In a hospital scene, we see Gaff and Bryant watching Deckard on video as is they’re curious as to what he does. This scene makes it obvious how Gaff knows that Rachel is at Deckards apartment. Love the line ‘I spit on metaphysics Sir’. Fleshes out Gaff, changes his character.

We see Deckard wake after Rachel plays the piano…this had been left out previously.

Extended love scene – well, we get to see more skin – works for me!

Nice bit with Roy leaving the Tyrell Corporation, exclaiming ‘Mom?!’. There was line there that was in the Final Cut after Roy had killed Tyrell that would have been nice to leave in.

‘Are you sure you’re a man?’ Should have been in the Final Cut.

This cut, without using the Unicorn seems to me to say quite obviously that Dec is a rep. Let’s not forget the opening line from Rachel before credits “You know what I think? That we were made for each other.” It feels like a different film somewhat now. I don’t think it’s as dark as Scott’s Final Cut, but this feels like a more personal film in the world of Deckard. We hear his thoughts, he expresses his doubts and fears.

Technically, sound and picture are perfect. No harsh cuts, seemless.

5/5.

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

Frankly, this edit is absolutely epic. ADigitalMan, this is one of the best edits I’ve seen, right along with Star Wars: Revisited. Despite having seen all the deleted scenes before, in the context of the movie, they really do come to life. Sure there are slight dips in quality, but they are forgivable considering how much more complex the story is made.

The hospital scenes are amazing. You can see how Deckard regrets having to be a Blade Runner and how he’s starting to see his own mortality. The other extended bits here and there work very well. A favorite of mine is definitely Roy right after he kills Tyrell; it seems to show his emotional/slightly human side, in order to make the viewers think.

The narration was never my favorite thing in the original Blade Runner, but with the added scenes here it works fantastically. You really get a sense of a noir-ish inner monologue and Harrison Ford’s tone and voice are really good for this. The best audio option, in my opinion, is using the voiceover from the workprint, as it indeed does seem more emotional. All in all, Deckard’s character and humanity becomes very emphasized here and I love it. For those that detest the voiceover, this excellent edit has an option for you.

Video: 10/10
Audio: 10/10
Editing: 10/10